New York City Mayor Eric Adams has appointed Melissa Aviles-Ramos, the deputy chancellor of the city’s public schools, to replace Schools Chancellor David Banks, who is stepping down amidst federal corruption inquiries. Banks’s resignation, announced on Tuesday, will take effect on Dec. 31.
Aviles-Ramos, who has been serving as deputy chancellor since July, has held various roles within the Department of Education, including chief of staff of the office of the chancellor, senior executive director of program implementation, and acting superintendent. She also spent six months as vice president of Monroe College earlier this year.
The announcement of Aviles-Ramos’s new role comes just three weeks after federal agents raided Banks’s home on Sept. 4 as part of a corruption probe that has raised concerns about Mayor Adams’s political future.
Banks was appointed as the 31st New York City schools chancellor on Jan. 1, 2022, succeeding Meisha Ross Porter.
In response to Banks’s retirement announcement, Mayor Adams praised Banks for his role in various educational programs and initiatives in a statement on Tuesday.
“In less than three years, our city’s public schools have transformed, from ensuring schools were safe and open post-pandemic to improving students’ reading scores, math scores, and graduation rates. We’ve implemented critical initiatives like ‘NYC Reads,’ ‘NYC Solves,’ and universal dyslexia screenings,” Adams stated.
Banks expressed his gratitude to Adams for the opportunity to serve and stated that he is proud of the progress they have made together.
The ongoing investigation into the activities of top officials in the Adams administration shows no signs of slowing down, with Banks being the latest high-profile figure to resign.
On Sept. 12, New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban resigned following federal agents seizing his phone as part of an investigation into his twin brother James’s business dealings with local nightclubs, bars, and restaurants.
Adams appointed Tom Donlon as interim commissioner, who himself became the subject of a law enforcement inquiry last Friday. Donlon, a former anti-terrorism official, had search warrants executed at his residences where unrelated documents were taken, according to his statement.
Donlon previously served as the city’s director of the Office of Homeland Security, led the FBI’s national threat center, and was involved in the investigation of the 1993 World Trade Center attack. He started his own security firm in 2020.
Last week, two officials in the New York Fire Department were arrested for allegedly participating in a bribery scheme with a retired firefighter related to expedited fire safety inspections.
The Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
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